Mario Andretti heads list of foreign-born drivers in the Daytona 500

Much like the Indy 500, the Daytona 500 has always attracted a host of foreign-born drivers. The most notable is Italian-born Mario Andretti, the 1967 race winner in a Holman-Moody Ford.

But well before him, Canadian driver Dick Foley and Chilean drivers Paul Cilloniz and Edurado Dibos were in the inaugural race in 1959. Foley came back in 1960, and Jo Schlesser of France and Jim Bray of Canada ran the 500 in 1964. (Bray came back a year later.) Innes Ireland of England raced in 1967 (the year Andretti won) and Canadian Don Biederman was on the grid in 1969. For reasons unclear, he never took the green.

Mexican driver Pedro Rodriquez raced in 1971, and Canadian natives Vic Parsons and Earl Ross competed in 1973. Ross came back in 1976, along with Englishman David Hobbs and Canadian Roy Smith, who also ran the 500 in 1977 and 1982. Frenchman Claude Ballot-Léna was in the field in 1978, and then Trevor Boys came down from Canada for every race between 1985 and 1988.

Christian Fittipaldi of Brazil ran the 500 in 2003. Juan-Pablo Montoya of Colombia made the first of his five appearances in 2008, the same year Dario Franchitti of Scotland ran the 500. Montoya and Australian driver Marcos Ambrose have run every Daytona 500 race since 2009, the same year Italian driver Max Papis also ran the 500.

All told, then: 20 drivers from 10 foreign countries have made 36 starts.